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Thursday, May 13, 2010

Don't You Dare Try To Access Public Records Of Barack Obama

Nine employees of the U.S. Department of Education are learning the hard way that Americans have no right to access the public records of Barack Obama. They have been indicted by the federal government for gaining access to his student loan records between July 2007 and March 2009 at the Coralville, Iowa office where they worked. The charged could face up to one year in prison and a fine of up to $100,000. Most of Obama's college years remain of great mystery to the American people. None of his classmates can seem to recall him being a student at Columbia University and, unlike other recent presidential candidates, he refused to release his grade transcripts from the schools he attended.

27 comments:

As an attorney, you know that those records were not "public records". There are laws protecting such records and the nine were prosecuted for violating such privacy laws. The nine were convicted in a court of law and are now awaiting sentencing.

Let's start with the fact that these aren't public records. In fact parents can't even access their child's college grades without express permission from the student - even though the parents are paying.

Second, these government employees willfully exceeded their access rights to information. That's a crime, no matter who the subject is. While some information may be "public" - other information such as income, SS numbers, etc. isn't.

There's a process for getting access to public information - and having employees snooping through your files isn't it. If that's not strictly enforced, citizens would be very hesitant to supply information to the government.

Lastly, besides political hacks, there are a lot of nut jobs out there. If I'm an elected official, I sure as hell don't want my personal info floating around for any rabid tea-bagger to sort through. Hell, I don't even have a facebook account.

Look bud, when you post this kind of nonsense, you take away from your credibility.

It's funny because the guy running the company that accessed John McCain's passport records unlawfully is now our national security adviser. His employees also accessed Hillary Clinton's and Barack Obama's. The purpose of accessing Obama's records was to clean up his file. Debbie Schlussel disclosed on her blog how Barack didn't have a record of registering with the Selective Service System until a year after a public records requests proved otherwise. Someone in the Chicago office accessed the system and created a record for him. I guess it all depends on whether you are illegally accessing the government computers to whitewash Obama's murky past or whether you are seeking information that should be disclosed to the American people as the basis for whether you are prosecuted for committing a crime.

I've never ever dug through trash to dig up dirt on opponents. Public records are fair game - like the personnel files on Carson you demanded and published from the State. You even came to my home and posted a photo of it here on this blog.

Yes, I do photograph folk in public spaces. It was funny watching poor Jon Elrod desperately try to avoid being photographed at a raucous "Tea Party" LOL I do suppose he's camera-shy after being videotaped doing campaign work while at his House desk during session...

Opposition research is a necessary practice in American politics - Clarence Thomas wife was even the head of GOP oppo research in DC !

We have to bring an ORIGINAL birth certificate for our daughter to play in a softball tournament. We have to produce a driver's license to check-out things from the video store. But, when we're really to get hot and bothered is producing proper identification if stopped by law enforcement, or someone daring to expect birth, educational, political, and medical records from the man that has the ability to send our children to war?

We expect routine obfuscation and evasion from both political parties. But, wouldn't we have had righteous fury by mainstream media for this information from an uncooperative President McCain? Where's the fist-pounding and howling akin to Katrina for the latest disaster affecting Louisiana and the Gulf coast?

When did the mantras of "accountability" and "full disclosure" become such unimportant and selective expectations?

I agree with Wilson. When I read stuff like this on your blog you lose credibility with me.

If you want the issue to be about Obama whitewashing records or whatever, then please make that the issue upfront. Don't make it about how he imprisoned people for accessing his public records. They weren't public records; they were private records. These alleged criminals are accused of violating an express law that has a valid purpose. You're confusing issues and it makes me think you're not objective. If you want an intelligent following, treat your readers as if they're intelligent.

It doesn't take that many posts to turn people off. You're not speaking, you're writing. You can reflect a little before you submit your posts.

It looks like there are issues about his social security number as well. The first 3 digits suggest it was issued to an applicant living in Connecticut in the late 1970s where Obama has never lived according to all biographical accounts to date. A point not raised by investigators is why he didn't have a SSN earlier. He traveled back in forth to Indonesia in the 1960s with his mother where he lived and where he became a citizen after being adopted by his Indonesian step-father. His original travel from Hawaii to Indonesia would have required a US passport. A SSN is required in order to get a passport. More interesting questions about the mystery man nobody seems to know anything about before emerging on the scene in Chicago.

Yeah, I've heard about it, but I don't lend much credibility to Rev. Manning. It really is troubling that so much basic biographical information on this man is missing. If he had nothing to hide, he would have put these questions to rest long ago. He has spent millions on legal expenses blocking access to his records, which is unprecedented in American.

First, please fact check before you post your article. President Obama did attend Columbia University (http://www.factcheck.org/2010/02/obama-at-columbia-university/index.html and http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/columbia.asp). I guess I can tell where your false information came from, Fox News and those chain emails. Now, I don't support anyone breaking into private records, regardless if they are from the left or the right. I understand if people disagree with someone but I just don't accept the tactic that anyone that disagrees with conservatives (Republicans) is not American, President Obama is an unknown, etc. The man wrote two books, if you care to read them. He's had Hillary's people and countless Republican supporters investigating him and they still haven't found what they were looking for. I guess that is what helps keep the rumors alive.

PS-I just started reading your blog recently and was under the impression it was a little more factually accurate than the last few posts that I've read.

Without knowing anything about the people who accessed the records, I would guess their curiosity got the better of their good sense. You hear about this type of thing from time to time. Hospital workers get in trouble for looking up the medical records of celebrities who are patients or clients. There is a very strict enforcement: Only people who need access are authorized to look at protected records. If I found out someone had looked at my records -- medical, academic, or other -- I would be upset and would consider my legal options. So would you.

I know a doctor at Methodist who complains about co-workers looking up other peoples health records out of curiosity. Who is she dating? Well, let's see if he has any STDs. They even talk about what they learn from gleaning other people's health records. Government workers always snoop in their spare time, which they generally have plenty of time to do. It comes with the territory. I remember on a slow summer day when I worked for the Illinois legislature how several us spent most of the day looking up people's salaries and left work completely angry. One of the staffers began publishing a list once a year that he circulated around the office until the boss ordered him to stop because so many staff members were coming in to complain that they weren't making the same amount as someone with equal experience and education.

Somebody can have the power to risk our kids lives overseas for questionable foreign policy excursions, and we're going to accept that they don't have to have the thorough background check we would of somebody applying for the FBI, or CIA, or any major security job? The Presidency is now, suddenly, magically, selectively be exempt from scrutiny? Why? By whose authority? By what kind of fairness to the electorate or measure of common sense?

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